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BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

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ANGELUS TODAY





In his mini-homily today to a festive St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father cited commentary by St. Ambrose, whose feast day is tomorrow, on the Gospel today in which St. Luke describes John the Baptist bearing the Word of God in preparation for Jesus's public ministry.

Here is what he said for English-speaking pilgrims:

In today’s Gospel we hear the voice of John the Baptist calling out in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord!"

May this Advent season be for us a time of repentance so that, when Christ comes, we may welcome Him with joy, share in his wisdom and become one with him. Upon each of you and your loved ones at home, I invoke God’s abundant blessings!


On the eve of the Copenhagen conference on climate change, he also called on all men of goodwill to respect the law of God in nature and the moral dimension of human life in bearing responsibility for safeguarding the environment.




Here is a translation of the Holy Father's words:


DDear brothers and sisters!

On this second Sunday of Advent, the Liturgy offerus the Gospel passage in which St. Luke sets the stage, so to speak, on which Jesus is about to begin his public ministry (cfr Lk 2,1-6).

The evangelist shines the spotlight on John the Baptist, who was the precursor of the Messiah, and with great precision, he traces the space-time coordinates of Johm's preaching.

Luke writes: "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert" (Lk 3,1-2).

Two things call our attention. The first is the abundance of references to all the political and religious authorities of Palestine in 27/28 BC. Evidently, the evangelist wished to impress on his reader or listener that the Gospel is not a legend but the account of a true story, that Jesus of Nazareth is a historical figure situated in that precise context.

The second noteworthy element is that after this ample historical introduction, the subject matter becomes 'the Word of God', presented as a power that comes from above and descends on John the Baptist.

Tomorrow we mark the liturgical commemoration of St. Ambrose, the great Bishop of Milan. I take from him a commont on today's Gospel text: "The Son of God," he wrote, "before assembling the Church, acted first of all in her humble servant. That is why St. Luke says well that 'the Word of God came to John, son of Zachary, in the desert', because the Church did not originate from men, but from the Word" (Espos. on St. Luke's Gospel 2,67).

And that is the meaning: that the Word of God is the subject that motivates history, inspires the prophets, prepares the way for the Messiah, and calls the Church together.

Jesus himself is the Divine Word made flesh in the virginal womb of Mary. In him, God reveals himself fully - he has told us and given us everything, opening to us the treasury of his truth and his mercy.

St.Ambrose continues: "May the Word then come down, so that the earth, which was once a desert, may produce its fruits for us" (ibid.).

Dear friends, the most beautiful flower germinated from the Word of God is the Virgin Mary. She is the first fruit of the Church, God's garden on earth.

But while Mary is the Immaculate, whom we shall celebrate as such two days from now, the Church continually needs to purify herself because sin undermines all of her members.

Always underway in the Church is the battle between the desert and the garden, between sin which aridifies the earth and the grace that irrigates in order to produce abundant fruits of holiness.

Let is therefore pray to the Mother of the Lord so that she may aid us, in this season of Advent, to 'set straight' our lives, allowing ourselves to be guided by the Word of God.

After the prayers, he had this special message:

Tomorrow in Copenhagen, the United Nations conference on climate change will open, whereby the international community hopes to counteract the phenomenon of global wamring.

I hope that the work of the conference will help to identify actions that are respectful of creation and promote fraternally supportive development, based on the the dignity of the human person and oriented towards the common good.

Safeguarding creation postulates the adoption of moderate and responsible lifestyles, especially with respect to the poor and to future generations.

In this perspective, in order to guarantee full success to the Conference. I invite all persons of good will to respect the laws inscribed by God in nature and to rediscover the moral dimension of human life.


To the Italian pilgrims, he had this special greeting:

I greet in particular the "Associazione nazionale famiglie numerose" (national association of families with many children) whose motto is "More children, more future'.

Dear friends, I pray that Providence may always be with you in the midst of joys and difficulties, and I hope that effective policies to support families may develop everywhere, especially for those families who have many children.








A note on the AP terminology below: They translate the Italian word 'sobrio' as 'sober', but the more appropriate translation is 'moderate' - which is the primary sense of 'sobrio' in Italian, not the English cognate 'sober' which has other connotations. Even in the context of the Pope's message, the right translation is 'moderate'.

Pope to climate summit:
Adopt 'sober and responsible' lifestyles
to safeguard the environment




VATICAN CITY.Dec. 6 (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has told world leaders attending the climate summit in Copenhagen that caring for God's creation requires they adopt sober and responsible lifestyles.

Benedict said Sunday he hoped the meeting, which opens Monday, would outline actions that respect creation and promote development while respecting human dignity and the common good.

The Vatican, which has U.N. observer status, is sending a delegation to Copenhagen.

Benedict has spoken out frequently about the need to care for the planet, dedicating a good part of his last encyclical to the issue. Under his pontificate, the Vatican has also installed photovoltaic cells on the roof of its auditorium and begun a reforestation project aimed at offsetting its C02 emissions.




[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 07/12/2009 01:49]
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